Emerging Infectious Disease ISSN: 1080-6059

Disproportionate Impact of Sexually Transmitted Diseases on Women

ICWID Session Summaries
Suggested Citation

Sevgi O. Aral*

, Sarah Hawkes†, Ann Biddlecom‡, and Nancy Padian§

Author affiliations: *Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; †London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom; ‡Alan Guttmacher Institute, New York City, New York, USA; §University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA

Suggested citation for this article

Worldwide, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV affect women more than men. This gender differential is greater in developing countries than in industrialized countries, and biological, social, cultural, and economic factors all contribute to the gender differential in STD/HIV. Larger mucosal surface area, microlesions caused during sex (particularly forced sex), and the presence of more HIV in semen than in vaginal secretions all contribute to women’s greater vulnerability to STDs and HIV.

Their sex partners’ behaviors also put women at risk for STDs and HIV. Culturally, men are expected to have multiple sex partners, including sex workers, and women may risk abuse or suspicion of infidelity if they refuse sex or request protection. Financial and material dependence on men renders women economically more vulnerable to STDs and HIV. Often women are under pressure to find a husband or bring home money, which in the absence of viable alternatives leads them into sex work. Effective prevention of STDs and HIV necessitates large-scale social, cultural, and economic changes and female-controlled prevention, such as microbicides.

Suggested citation for this article: Aral SO, Hawkes S, Biddlecom A, Padian N. Disproportionate impact of sexually transmitted diseases on women. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2004 Nov [date cited]. Available from http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/10/11/04-0623_02.htm

DOI: 10.3201/eid1011.040623_02

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Table of Contents – Volume 10, Number 11—November 2004

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Sevgi Aral, Division of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd, Mailstop E02, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA; fax: 404-639-8608

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